Blue Lies
by vintage88
Summary: Early one morning, Prosper runs into a mysterious girl. Although she is a talented thief, there is something about her that Prosper is determined to discover. Better at writing stories then at reviews! R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter1

Checking one last time to make sure Bo was in a deep sleep, Prosper tiptoed across the room and opened up the window. The cold morning rushed through the window, making Bo stir in his sleep. Moving briskly, Prosper slipped through the window onto the roof, closing the window silently behind him.

Taking in a deep breath of cold, early morning air, Prosper took a seat on the roof, still not sure why he was exactly there. Well, he knew part of why he was there. It was because of that dream, the dream where he was trying to avoid something, trying run away from something. Only it was so bright in his dream that he had to squint and kept tripping over unknown objects on the ground until the thing behind him got so close that…. He still didn't know what would happen because he would wake up just before he was devoured.

Prosper wasn't used to having dreams, especially not dreams that appeared every night. It began to bother him because he didn't know what it was, but it had to be something. Hornet and Bo kept asking what was wrong; obviously the dream was somehow showing up on his face. He didn't want to tell them about the dream in case they thought he was overreacting.

Deciding the roof still wasn't good enough, Prosper walked along the slanted roof until he spotted the drain spout – he had quite good eyesight at night. Gripping onto it tightly, he slowly slid down until his feet landed softly on the ground. Smiling with excitement, Prosper turned on his feet and began to run. He didn't know why he was running (he still didn't know why he was outside!), but he couldn't hold it in anymore. He began running through the empty streets of Venice, the frigid air slapping his face.

Turning sharply down a narrow street, Prosper suddenly hit something hard and was flung backwards onto the street. He hit his head hard, even though he tried to stop himself with his hands.

"Oh no!" he heard a female voice gasp. Suddenly the owner of the voice grabbed his hand and he was being pulled. Not sure what he had gotten himself into, Prosper decided to follow until he and the stranger stopped under the bridge.

"Don't say anything," the female hissed. Prosper silently obeyed until and used the moonlight and his excellent eyes to look at the girl. She was small and fragile looking with long black hair and enormous eyes. Her chin stuck out slightly as if she were listening for something. Prosper strained his ears as well but heard nothing. Giving up, he looked down at the girl's hand, which held a small bag.

"What's that?" Prosper grinned, motioning to the sack.

The girl pulled the bag towards her chest, almost as if she were afraid he would try to snatch it. "Nothing," she said angrily, although her stunning eyes gave away her nervousness.

"I'm not going to take it," he told her, "but what are you doing out here so late? Or should I say early? It must be two or three a.m."

The girl eyed him suspiciously. "I'd like to ask you the same question. What are _you_ doing out here?"

"Going out for a stroll."

"At two in the morning?"

"I'm presuming that's what you're doing as well." Prosper winked at the girl and she finally smiled.

"I'm Rio." She said at last.

"Prosper," he told her. Suddenly feeling awkward sitting underneath a bridge and whether he should shake hands with her or not, he pretended to warm his hands up although he didn't mind the cold.

"I was running away," Rio admitted softly, "from the cops."

Prosper felt himself stiffen. Was it from being nervous or being excited?

"I… I broke into a store," she continued, "and was doing fine until I left. It was a jewelry store and my elbow hit a vase which smashed on the ground. They must have a sound alarm because all of a sudden there was a siren and… and I panicked. It's never happened to me before and it took me too long to decide what I should do…"

"And then the cops showed up." Prosper finished for her. The girl nodded, her eyes looking glassy as if the memory haunted her. Feeling awkward again, Prosper shuffled his feet. He wanted to put his arm around Rio like he would for Hornet when she was upset, but this wasn't Hornet.

"Thanks for saving me though," he told her, "if you hadn't dragged me along I would have been caught by the cops and they would have blamed it on me."

Rio smiled her beautiful smile once again. "Honestly though; what are you doing out? Are you a thief too?"

Prosper opened his mouth, but no sounds came out. He wasn't sure how to answer. Luckily though, the church bells went off, signaling it was 3 a.m. Prosper gave Rio a lopsided grin. "Guess it is 3 a.m."

The girl's face was suddenly struck by fear. "You mean it's actually 3? Oh God, oh no I have to go."

"Wait, go? Why?"

Rio began to run out from underneath the bridge, looking around her to make sure no one was there. "I can't, I have to go. He's going to kill me."

"Come one, don't go," Prosper said as he grabbed onto her arm. Rio turned to him and he continued, "What's so important about being on time? You're a thief! Whoever _he_ is won't actually kill you."

He grinned at Rio again, hoping to get her to smile. Instead, her already enormous eyes got even bigger, as if something she didn't want to remember flashed through her mind. Sucking in her breath, she yanked her arm out of Prosper's grasp. It was an unbelievably strong yank for such a small girl, and Prosper was so amazed by it that he didn't even notice Rio disappear into the misty morning.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter2

"Prosper? Wake up Prosper, are you alright?" Opening his eyes, Prosper saw Bo's nervous eyes looking down at him. "It's 10:15," Bo continued anxiously, "you've never slept in this late."

Sitting up quickly, Prosper looked around the room. Was last night a… a dream? No, it couldn't have been, because it seemed he only had one dream nowadays. Last night was not a dream.

"Are you sick?" Bo pestered him with questions.

"No, I'm fine." Prosper said harsher then he meant to, but he was trying to remember the girls name. _Rachel… Rebecca…_

"Hey, you're up!" Hornet exclaimed happily, walking into the room with a cup of tea in her hands, "Ida made this for you when she heard you were sick."

"I'm not sick!" Prosper said irritably. _Ri…Ri… Rio!_ That was her name, Rio. Prosper looked up at Rio, who looked taken aback by Prosper. Her long brown hair was tied into its two usual braids, but her brown eyes had suddenly lost their sparkle.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said in a softer tone, taking a step towards Hornet. She suddenly scowled at him, shoving the cup of tea towards him. Some spilled over the edge and the scalding liquid landed on his foot. Hornet saw, but she didn't apologize and turned sharply on her heel.

"Hornet…" Prosper called after her, but he didn't follow. Sadly turning around, he suddenly remembered Bo standing behind him. His blonde locks were falling in front of his sad eyes.

"Why were you on the roof this morning?" he asked quietly, almost as if he were afraid to even be bringing it up.

Prosper sucked in his breath. "I thought you were asleep!" Bo just bit his bottom lip. "Don't tell Ida, Bo," Prosper begged, "Don't tell Ida or Hornet. Please keep it a secret, a secret just between us. Brothers keep each other's secrets, right?"

Bo nodded with a disappointed expression on his face. "Brother's keep secrets." He muttered before sulking out of the room. Prosper tried not to let out a groan; what was wrong with everyone today? Or more importantly, what was wrong with him?

Walking to Hornet's room, he lightly knocked on her door before entering. She was sitting on her bed reading _Of Mice and Men_, a book she had read to Prosper when they were still thieves. Prosper smiled at the memory.

"What?" Hornet heaved a sigh.

"Look, I'm sorry I snapped at you this morning." He apologized, "I guess I'm getting sick."

Hornet snapped her book shut. "Don't even start with that," she hissed, "you haven't been yourself for almost two weeks. I'm not going to ignore it anymore and let you treat me like dirt."

Prosper opened his mouth to silence. He didn't know what to say.

"Where have you gone?" she asked him softly.

"What? Hornet, I'm right here." He tried not to show signs of how stupid he thought her question was.

"I'm not talking about you," she glared, "I'm talking about the old Prosper." Prosper stayed silent, still not sure what to say. "Just get out of my room Prosper." Hornet finished bitterly. She turned back to her book to show the conversation really was over.

Clenching his jaw, Prosper stormed out of the room. Running down the stairs, he placed his tea on the table by the front door. Just as he opened the door, and tiny voice behind him squeaked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm just going out Bo, okay?" He was breathing hard, and it took him a moment to realize how cruel he had said those words. Turning around to apologize, he realized Bo was gone.

Prosper's throat was suddenly tight. What was happening to him? Shaking his head, he left the house. He had to get out of there. He had to get away from Hornet, Bo, Ida… He had to find Rio.

**Please tell me what you think of the story! I love reviews and advice!!! x0**

**Vintage88**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter3

The cool air in Prosper's lungs calmed him down. Of course, this made him only feel more terrible about how he had been acting at Ida's house. What was coming over him? It was like he couldn't control his temper anymore. Stopping at a bridge, Prosper leaned over the edge and looked at his reflection in the water. He scowled, hating himself.

Feeling the fury rising, he briskly continued to walk, getting his feet covered in the slush of muddy snow. Venice was coming more to life as the morning began to pass. Stores began opening their doors and setting up stands while early bird shopper scrambled around looking for the ripest fruit.

Walking past a small bakery, Prosper's stomach growled at the smell of freshly baked bread, reminding him he hadn't eaten anything that morning. Quickly looking over his shoulder, Prosper's hand grabbed a shiny green apple off a stand at amazing speed. He let out a quick breath of amazement; he hadn't stolen anything for… well for a long time. It felt good, and no one had caught him. Taking a bite out of his reward, Prosper suddenly caught sight of long, black hair.

"Rio?" he whispered. It _was_ her! "Rio!" he shouted over the noise of the crowd. She didn't hear him, so he ran up to her and lightly touched her arm. "Ri-" he began, but to his surprise the girl snatched her arm away from him, looking terrified.

"Prosper!" she exclaimed, "I didn't know it was you. I thought it might have been…" Prosper stared at her in amazement. He hadn't been able to tell the night before, but Rio had the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

"Are you okay?" Prosper quickly shook his head as he realized he had been staring at her.

"Yeah, sorry I just… hey did you get back in time? You seemed really worried about some guy." He hesitated, "Everything alright?"

Rio began to fiddle with the zipper of her sweater, which almost went down to her knees. "Yeah, it's just my dad. He gets worried when I'm late."

"But you said he was going to kill you and I just got really nervous." Admitted Prosper.

"Kill me?" Rio let out a laugh, "Prosper, I was just exaggerating. 'He's going to kill me' is just an expression. I was only scared last night because I set off the alarm." Prosper nodded slowly as he listened to Rio. She sounded so confident that he suddenly felt embarrassed about sounding so concerned.

"You wanna get out of here?" he asked her. Blue eyes looked slightly startled by this, but she nodded with a small smile. Prosper grinned back and the two of them left the busy town square until they reached the bridge they had met the night before. Sitting down and hanging their legs over the water, they sat in silence.

"So your dad taught you to be a thief?" blurted out Prosper. As comfortable as the silence was, he couldn't ignore the question that kept picking at his brain.

"My dad? Oh yeah, he got me started on this whole career."

"What's he like?" Prosper prodded her with questions.

"Well, he's amazing at being a thief," began Rio, "or at least he used to be. He's gotten too old now so he makes me do his work."

"Wow," Prosper gazed up at the sky dreamily, "that must be brilliant having a genius thief being able to give you tips on everything. I used to know the Thief Lord, but I suppose he's given up on that. He could always give you advice."

Rio nodded. "He's always able to tell me what I've done wrong," she announced softly. "But what about you? What's your life as a thief?"

Stiffening, Prosper dropped his eyes to the water, hoping that Rio wouldn't notice. Was he actually a thief? He used to be one, but just because he stole one easy apple didn't make him anymore a thief. Prosper had never technically said he was a thief, but what would Rio think if he told her he lived with the wealthy Ida?

Taking a deep breath, Prosper spoke slowly and tried to remember what it felt like when he _had_ been a thief. "It's like nothing I've ever experienced before," he admitted, as that was true.

"Where do you live?"

_Lie, you have to! She'll never trust you else wise._ "Everywhere, I'm free to live wherever I want to so why stay in one place?" He watched carefully as Rio nodded, taking it all in. "Life is completely free when being a thief."

"Completely free," Rio said in such a whisper Prosper almost missed it. She continued to stare at the water, watching her reflection. She didn't look like a thief, Prosper decided, she was too… fragile it seemed. Rio shivered as if she didn't have enough meat on her bones to stay warm, and her body was drowned in the sweater she was wearing.

"Blue?"

She looked up, startled. "What?"

"Do you mind if I call you Blue?" asked Prosper, "It would be like your nickname." A slow grin spread across Rio's face and Prosper felt his face burning. "Sorry," he mumbled, "that was stupid-"

"No, no it's not," Rio exclaimed, "I love it. That was a name my dad used to call me."

Prosper suddenly relaxed, but before he could say anything, the church bells cut him off just like they had the night before. Rio shook her head in disbelief. "I have to go," she tenderly said, "there's job Rufus sent me on."

"Rufus?"

"Oh… Rufus is my dad." She explained, "I guess I just call him by his first name."

"Do you really have to go?" Prosper reached out to touch her arm. She took a step back to avoid it and he pretended not to feel hurt.

"Sorry," she apologized, "but I always lose track of time when I'm with you. I have to get going."

"I'll see you around, then?" asked Prosper eagerly. Rio nodded. "Bye Blue!" Prosper called as she began to run off. She turned around and grinned at him when she heard him call her that. Giving a small wave, she continued on her way, her black hair swishing back and forth, making her look much too delicate to be a thief.

-

-

-

When Prosper returned to Ida's, everyone noticed he was in high spirits and was glad to have the kind and friendly Prosper back.

And for the first time in a while, Prosper slept with no dream of him trying to run away from the dark.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter4

Hornet watched Prosper carefully one morning while they were eating breakfast. His mood had improved quite a lot over the past few days. She loved seeing him help in the kitchen and play with his brother again, but he was out of the house so often. She hardly saw Prosper's cute, round eyes anymore.

"Can we play cards again?" Bo asked Prosper while he ate his cornflakes with his fingers.

"Again?" Prosper moaned playfully, "And after all the times I beat you last night, you still want to challenge?"

Bo grinned at his brother. "Practice makes perfect."

"He was improving fairly quickly last night," Hornet pointed out.

"I think I'm going to head out for a walk though." Prosper said quickly as he got up from the table to put his dishes in the sink. Bo let out a little sigh, but he was still happy Prosper was back to normal; well, almost.

"Don't forget your sweater," scrambling up from her seat, Hornet grabbed Prosper's blue sweater off the counter. It looked so good on Prosper, making his sandy blonde hair look just that much blonder. But the reason why she had really picked it out was because it was such an obvious color; a color that wouldn't be lost in a crowd easily.

"Thanks Hornet." Prosper exclaimed. He gave a nod to Hornet and left Ida's house.

"Bo, I'm going out to," she said hurriedly as she fumbled around to put on her sneakers, "I think we need some more food."

"Grocery shopping," Bo said slowly, "can I come too?"

Hornet panicked for a moment, not wanting to hurt the young boy's feelings. "I'm going shopping for… vegetables. Squash, asparagus, all the vegetables you don't like. What a coincidence, eh?"

Bo nodded, drinking up Hornet's small, white lie. "_Blech_, I hate vegetables."

"I'll be back soon," she told him as she opened the door, spotting Prosper's blue sweater in the distance, "and maybe I'll get your some sweets as well." Hornet then bolted out of the house so quickly that she completely missed Bo's thank you.

It was surprisingly busy for a Tuesday morning. Hornet shivered as she dodged early bird shoppers, pulling her fleece tighter to her body. She wasn't as used to the cold as she had been, and began wishing she had brought a jacket. Hornet began to pick up the pace, ignoring the slushy snow that was being splattered up and soaking the ends of her jeans.

Hiding behind a stand, only a daring few feet away from Prosper, Hornet stared at him suspiciously. It was obvious from the turning of his head that he was looking for someone. All of a sudden his face was shining, and out of nowhere, a petite girl approached him. Hornet sucked in her breath when she got a look at the girl's face, and even though she had some sort of bruise on her face, Hornet's shoulders dropped. She was stunning.

She continued to watch the two of them, not trying to hear what they were talking about. Too many thoughts were storming through her head. Who was this girl? Where had Prosper met her? A horrid thought suddenly hit Hornet hard; was she his…_ girlfriend?_

_Maybe that explains why Prosper had been in such a chirpy mood recently,_ Hornet thought, her emotions a mix of sadness, jealousy and bitterness.

Focusing her attention back to Prosper and the stranger, Hornet just caught the girl storming off. As relieved as she was to see that sight, she didn't like the lost expression on Prosper's face. Just as she was debating as to whether she should approach Prosper or not, she saw his hand shot out and grab a tomato off a stand. No one noticed, except for Hornet.

She watched in horror as Prosper looked at the tomato in disgust and threw the vegetable on the ground. He looked up, and suddenly his eyes were locked with Hornet's. She didn't even try to pretend that she hadn't been watching him the whole time. Just as he took a step towards her, she turned around and began to run, not caring how obvious she was.

_Whatever, _she thought bitterly, _let him know I was spying on him. Who cares what Prosper thinks anymore…_

-

-

-

"Prosper!" a familiar voice called above the crowd.

Prosper turned around and smiled. "Blue," he exclaimed as he caught sight of her. She smiled sweetly at him from behind the curtain of her hair. "What's up?"

Rio bit her lip, hoping it would stop her from blushing. "I have a question," she spoke shyly, "and this may sound completely silly, but I was wondering if you would help me with a job."

"A job?"

"Yeah, Rufus… dad has assigned me a job." She explained, "I've been watching you the last few days when you pickpocket and steal small things off the stand. You're, well amazing, and I was hoping you might help me with this one job."

As Rio spoke, Prosper's grinned expanded. He couldn't help it! When he _had_ been a thief, living in an abandoned theatre, he hadn't ever been found of the idea of stealing, so it was strange that he was suddenly into it now. What was even stranger was being complimented on it, which had never happened because Scipio had always out-shown him.

Unconsciously, Prosper lifted up his hand and pushed Rio's black hair out of her face. The moment he did, his grin immediately fell of his face. Rio suddenly gasped and covered her eye with her hand.

"Blue…" Prosper's voice wobbled.

"It's nothing, it's just a bruise." Rio said quickly, turning away from Prosper.

"A bruise? That's a black eye, Blue. Let me see it."

Letting out an angry sigh, Rio dropped her hand and turned back to Prosper. Around her left, slightly swollen eye, was a purple-black bruise. "Bruise, black eye, they're the same thing." She hurried.

"Where did you get it?" Prosper couldn't hide the worried tone in his voice.

"No where." 

"That's a lie."

"It doesn't matter where I got it."

"Rio!"

Rio looked back up at Prosper, wishing he had called her Blue instead. She loved the way he said it. "I tripped, okay? It was a stupid, embarrassing fall while I was running home and I hit my eye on the curb. Can we just drop it now?"

Eyeing her carefully, Prosper said slowly, "Are you sure you just fell? It sounds like… something else."

"What, do you think I'm lying?" Rio suddenly flared up, her eyes flashing.

"I'm just saying being a thief isn't easy." Prosper tried to calm her down, "You meet all types of people and some are…" he faded off slowly. "Look, I just want to know if someone hurt you. Someone you happened to run into an alleyway or something?"

Rio glared at him, a vicious glare that terrified Prosper for a moment. "I just tripped." She said under her breath, and before Prosper could say anything else she was gone.

He stood there, breathing hard, feeling scared, angry, but most of all confused. Out of fury, he grabbed something off the stand he was next to. Looking down he realized it was tomato. He hated tomatoes, and threw it on the ground so that it splattered. He waited for someone to call on him, but when no one did, he looked up. He looked up and was suddenly staring Hornet in the eyes. Her brown eyes were huge in horror.

Or maybe it was disgust.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter5

Hornet burst through the front door of Ida's house. Luckily Ida had left the house only a little after Hornet had; if Ida had still been there, Hornet would have been prodded with questions. Bo was still there though. He was sitting exactly where Hornet had left him, only now he was trying to make a castle out of cards instead of picking at cereal.

Bo took one look at Hornet's empty hands. "Did you forget why you had gone into town?" he asked so sweetly that Hornet's heart melted at the idea of getting angry at him. She couldn't help it though; she was just so… frustrated!

"No Bo," she said as she stormed up the stairs to her room, "I forgot my money." Hornet could hear Prosper coming into the house behind her, and she sprinted to her room. Slamming the door, she suddenly wished it had a lock and could only do with keeping her back to the door.

"Hornet!" he gasped.

She couldn't do it; she couldn't keep her back to him and pretend he wasn't there. Hornet snapped around to face him, her brown braids flailing through the air and whipping her neck. "What was that?" she asked, eyes wide with confusion.

"She's just a girl," Prosper grimaced.

Hornet rolled her eyes in disbelief. "I'm not talking about that girl. I'm talking about the fact that you just stole something and just threw it on the ground. You have money, why didn't you pay for it?"

"It was just a stupid tomato, Hornet." Prosper clenched and unclenched his jaw.

"It doesn't matter if it's a tomato or a diamond. We're not thieves anymore Prosper, and when we were you didn't even like it!"

Biting the inside of his cheek, Prosper stood in Hornet's doorway awkwardly. He didn't know what to say to Hornet's comment because she was right. Never before had he been interested in becoming a thief and he had no idea why he suddenly was. "You're overreacting," he finally muttered.

Hornet placed her hands on her hips. "Prosper, I just want to know what's going on. Why are you keeping secrets from everyone? You don't talk to us anymore. You haven't even said a word about that girl you went to meet today."

"I don't know her," snapped Prosper, "she just came up to me and started asking questions."

"Sure," Hornet smirked, "because everyone smiles like you did when they meet strangers."

_If only he would smile like that right now_, Hornet thought sadly, not showing any signs on her face.

"Look," she started again, "do you even know what prosper means?"

Prosper kept his mouth shut, his eyes staring darkly at Hornet. As frustrated with her as he was, he hoped that it didn't show how stupid he thought her question was. "Prosper is my name… or did you forget?"

"To prosper," explained Hornet, trying not to look hurt, "it means to flourish or to thrive… to do well. You're Prosper, you're _meant_ to flourish and look where we are now!" She threw her hands up in the air, reminding him how Ida had let them live with her. "You don't need to sink back to being a thief. Prosper… you can do so much more than that."

_What if I don't want to do more than that?_ Prosper wanted to burst. He had never felt better ever since he had started being a thief again with Rio at his side. And now she had asked him if he would do a job with her. That must mean something; maybe it meant he was supposed to be a thief.

The sound of the front door opening from downstairs startled Prosper. He whipped around and asked, "Who's here?"

"It's Tuesday Prosper," Hornet reminded him, sounding disappointed, "Mosca and Riccio always come on Tuesdays… or did you forget?" she added, hoping that maybe she might be able to get some sort of kind expression on Prosper's worried face.

"Look, I'm sorry okay?" Prosper muttered

Hornet shrugged. "I just want to know what's going on," she said softly.

Prosper bit his inside cheek again. His eyes shifted to the window, as if it would have some type of answer. Hornet followed his gaze to see what he was looking at. Nothing was in the window, and when she turned back around she realized Prosper had disappeared.

She let out a sad sigh, confused as to what was going on, although something told her it definitely had to do with this girl. After a moment, Hornet began to make her way downstairs. If she wanted to find anything out about this girl, she might as well see if the two boys who just walked in knew who she was.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Mosca and Riccio was the kitchen, as usual when they came to visit, eating the luxurious food that Ida made. Hornet marched into the kitchen, but stopped immediately, startled at how frail the two boys were looking. Even the best thieves would be struggling at this time of season, as there weren't many clueless tourists around.

"There's leftover chicken from last night," Hornet rushed over to the fridge ignoring Prosper's stare, wanting to fatten up the boys as quickly as possible, "and do you want the cake Ida made last night?"

"Hey Hornet," Riccio called through a mouth full of crackers. No matter how small and exhausted the hedgehog-boy was, his fiery spirit always shined through.

"Do you mind if I put my sweater in the dryer?" Mosca appeared from around the corner, "I can't wait for this slush to melt." Mosca worked more on the water, making him constantly damp and cold.

Hornet nodded. "Bo, do you mind doing that?" Bo nodded and skipped to the laundry room with Mosca's sweater.

"So how are you guys doing?" Prosper asked cautiously. He and Hornet exchanged worried glances; no matter what argument they were in, they could put it aside to help their friends.

Riccio shrugged. "It's has its ups… and downs."

"Maybe you two can stay here for a while," Hornet offered, "just until you get better. More tourists will be here by then -"

"Hornet," Mosca held up his hands, one holding a fork in it, "we promise we're fine. It's the life of a thief. We promised to come here once a week; isn't that enough?" Hornet nodded unsurely, staring past Mosca's large olive green eyes. "So how's life at Ida's?"

A tiny smirk came over Hornet's face as she felt Prosper's eyes dart towards her. He would probably have a grudge against her for asking, but she needed to know what was going on in his life. Not because she was nosey, but because she cared too much about him.

"Well," Hornet began, "I was wondering if you knew someone. She's a girl around our age, probably a thief like you two. She's small with long black hair with big, bright, beautiful blue eyes. Either of you seen her around?"

"Big, bright, beautiful blue eyes," Mosca repeated, "yeah she's a hard face to forget."

Hornet leaned forwards with interest, "So you know her?" Prosper stiffened.

"Yeah, that's Rio." Riccio continued while Mosca ate his cake, "We've run into her a couple times. She's nice, I like her." he added, making Hornet feel slightly better about her.

"Plus she's a fantastic thief," Mosca added, "I've never seen anything like her. It's hard to explain but she's so… smooth almost. It's like she does it without thinking. Rio would probably be one of the best thieves we've ever met, except her eyes sometimes give her away." He paused, "Why, have you met her?"

"No," Hornet replied coyly, "but Prosper has." She turned to meet his glaring eyes and added playfully, "See, it wasn't that hard to tell me about her."

"Wait, how did you meet her?" asked Mosca.

"Look, I would have told you Hornet, but you were so against her!" Prosper exclaimed.

"I wasn't again her," shot Hornet, "I just wanted to know what was going on but you were being so… difficult. Honestly, I didn't care who Rio was until I found out she was a thief. Obviously she is the one who influenced you to become a thief."

Riccio's mouth dropped opened. "Prosper's a thief?!"

"No he's not," said Hornet quickly.

"Rio offering me to do a job with her has nothing to do with me being a thief," groaned Prosper, "it was my own decision."

The kitchen suddenly became still and all eyes were on Prosper. His whitened as he realized what he had just said.

"She wants you to do a _job_ with her?" Hornet said slowly, her mouth in the shape of an O.

At the same time, Mosca and Riccio were flooding him with questions.

"Where's the job going to be?"

"When is it going to take place?"

"I didn't know you were such a thief for a job, how did you get so good?"

"Did you say yes?"

"No, he didn't," Hornet answered sternly for Prosper, "did you?"

Prosper shrugged. "I probably would have," he admitted, "but I never got the time to answer. She ran off before I could." The room was silent, waiting for him to continue

"Rio's been hurt you guys," Prosper continued slowly, "she has a black eye and, well she got all upset when I tried to bring it up. She assured me she just tripped on the curb but I think… I think something happened."

Hornet's brown eyes were huge. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" she kept her voice calm but butterflies were eating away at her stomach. She may not know Rio or like her because she was a thief, but that was no excuse to not be concerned for her; especially if Prosper was worried.

"Well it must have happened early this morning," Prosper said, "because I know for sure she didn't have it yesterday."

"It could have happened late last night," pointed out Riccio, "some older boys might have ganged up on her."

"But she went home to her dad early yesterday; no gangs would have been out that early. The sun hadn't even set yet!" Prosper added, frustrated with this mystery.

Mosca and Riccio stopped chewing their food and looked at each other with slight frowns on their faces. "What?" Hornet asked frantically, "What is it?"

Mosca swallowed. "Look, we might not know Rio that well, but we obviously know more about her then you do." He paused, "We met Rio when she was new on the streets. She told us she had run away from an orphanage. Prosper… Rio doesn't have a dad."

"What?"

"It's true," Riccio nodded, "she lived with her dad when she was younger, but he committed suicide when she was nine. Her grandparents didn't want her and placed her in an orphanage."

"But she said…" Prosper looked around helplessly, "Rio said she lived with him. Who's _Rufus_ then?"

Mosca and Riccio shrugged, just as lost as he was. Hornet gently walked over to Prosper and tapped his arm lightly. "Look, I know you think I hate Rio, but I don't. I don't even know her, so I _can't_ hate her." she hesitated, "But just because I don't know her, doesn't mean I don't think something should be done. You have to find her and figure out what's going on."

Prosper nodded and finally looked at her. He smiled and suddenly leaned forwards and hugged her. Startled at first, Hornet gave in and melted in his arms. Things between them were back to normal. "Do you want to help me find Rio?" Prosper asked, pulling away and smiling, "Then you can see if she's up to your _standards_."

"Who's Rio?" a tiny voice came from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Bo walking in the kitchen with Mosca's now dry sweater.

"I think I should explain to him what's going on," Hornet said, "and besides, I trust your judgment on people."

Prosper grinned and then turned leave Ida's house. Walking past Bo, Prosper ruffled his gold locks making his younger brother squeal.

"Okay," Bo exclaimed once Prosper left, "I don't care that I'm younger then all of you. You have to tell me what's going on. Who's Rio?"

"I think Hornet should explain," Riccio said dramatically, "I'm so confused right now my head hurts."

Hornet laughed – it felt good to laugh after everything that happened that morning. "Alright, alright, I'll explain. Where should I start? Okay, I know. Well Bo, I think your brother might be a thief……"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Walking through the late Venice night – or was it early Venice morning? – was just like walking through ink. It was impossible to see the silhouettes of any object, and if there weren't the lamp poles and lights in the houses, Rio would have felt like she was blind. Rufus had been right when he said tonight would be a dark one.

Crouching behind the railing on the bridge, Rio eyed the house she was planning to rob. When it was light enough to see the house, anyone would have fallen for the grand, old beauty with vines crawling up the walls. On other nights when Rio had been spying on the house, gold light would be pouring from its large windows, but it was too late for the woman in the house to be up at this hour. Rio felt guilty having to disturb the peaceful scene.

Beginning to pull herself up, Rio suddenly collapsed to the ground. She was in more pain than ever, and it was hard to get her legs to obey her. Catching her breath, Rio's mind was suddenly cast to Prosper. She had been watching out for him all day and spotted him trying looking for her. Knowing why he was after her, Rio had to force herself to stay away from him.

Using most of her strength, Rio pulled herself up on her wobbly legs. Ignoring the pain the best she could, Rio snaked her way to the old house, dodging any light that got in her way. Pulling out a nail file, she was able to break the lock less than a minute, thanks to Rufus.

Closing the door behind her so it didn't make a sound, Rio decided to creep up the stairs first.

"_What am I looking for?_"

"_What type of question is that from a thief? Looking for whatever is expensive, dammit!" _

Rio winced at the memory of her and Rufus's conversation. His pale blue, almost white, eyes were always scarier when he got angry. Squeezing her eyes shut to block out the image, Rio reached the second floor. There was suddenly the sound of a sink running, and Rio immediately ducked behind a table.

The bathroom door opened and silver light spilled onto the floor, just missing where Rio was crouching. The boy in pajamas stretched his arms and gave a yawn. _Strange_, Rio tensed, _I didn't know the woman had kids?_ She ducked her head ever so slightly to get a look at the boy. About a second before the boy switched off the bathroom light, their eyes met.

Rio suddenly felt sick as she began to panic. Was it… no it couldn't be. But she knew it was, it was Prosper. What was he doing here, and in pajamas? She waited for him to approach her, but the boy just stood there for the longest time. Eventually he slipped into another room. _His bedroom,_ though Rio, even though it didn't make sense. Prosper lived on the streets; he doesn't have a bedroom!

She continued to stay crouched in a ball, almost expecting for Prosper to come out to her again. But he never did, and eventually Rio couldn't take it anymore and bolted down the stairs. Ignoring the clomping sound her sneakers made on the wooden stairs, she burst through the front door. She didn't have time to stop and close the door for she was afraid her aching muscles would collapse if she did. A light somewhere in the house flicked on, but Rio knew that once she got far enough into the black, she would completely disappear from anyone's sight.

The house vanished. The bridge she crossed vanished. The whole area where Rio had been vanished, but she couldn't stop running. _Prosper?!_ No, he was a thief, not some rich boy living in a mansion. But even though she had only made eye contact with him for a second, she knew it was him.

_It was… it is… Prosper… Prosper… Prosper…_

THWACK!

Suddenly flung to the ground, Rio was unable to move. She was in too much shock and too much pain to try and run. If was the police, well, let them take her away; who knew how Rufus would react if she returned empty handed.

"Oh geez," a worried voice said from above her (it didn't sound like the police), "are you okay?" A tall, dark figure crouched down before and lightly touched her face as he turned on a flashlight. Rio winced, not sure if it was from the stranger's touch or light.

"Was that black eye from me?" the stranger suddenly gasped.

"No," Rio blubbered, not being able to control the sticky tears that rolled down her face. It hurt to cry, but she would probably be in worse pain later. _I'm going to die…_

The strong, sturdy arms scooped Rio off the ground with ease. She was so light that it was nothing for the stranger to carry her to the nearest lamppost. He awkwardly placed her on the ground, and Rio immediately covered her face.

"I'm sorry," she gasped.

"About what?" the stranger chuckled, "You're just crying. I'm sure you're not the first thief to do so."

Rio looked up. He was handsome, the stranger, with dark features and a lopsided grin on his face. But he was an adult, and no matter how friendly he might be, the changes of an adult not turning in a thief were slim. _Prison, death… it really is all downhill._

"I won't tell on you," he told her as if reading her mind, "that would be going against who I am… or was."

"I don't know who you are." Rio admitted softly, confused as to what was going on.

"That's understandable. Not many people recognize me anymore. It happens when you get old." The stranger paused, embarrassed with his babbling. Crouching down so he didn't tower the girl, he said softly, "So tell me what has made you so upset."

"I…" Rio sighed, not in the mood to explain anything at the moment, "I just screwed up. That's all."

"Hmm. Well if you're not going to tell me what's _really_ going on, at least tell me how you got that black eye."

"I tripped and hit the curb," Rio mumbled her lie, feeling uncomfortable. She would have bolted ages ago if her body would have let her.

"You tripped," the stranger smirked, sounding doubtful, "and how many people have you told that fib to?"

Rio shrugged and gingerly whipped her eyes and let out a tiny laugh. "Only one other." She then added miserably, "The one who actually cared what happened to me."

"See?!" the stranger boomed, startling Rio, "Now we're getting somewhere. You _have_ to tell me what's happened about you. You're a girl – don't girls tell other their feelings or something?"

Rio laughed again; he sounded like a kid. "I don't usually talk to strangers," she told him, although that rule of hers had changed quite drastically.

"You can trust me," the stranger softened his tone, "I mean I used to be a thief, too."

"What?" Rio gazed at him in awe.

"Sure," he chuckled, "I was… I am the Thief Lord."

**Alright, so I was asked where Scipio was so I brought him in!! Tell me what you think cuz I love reviews x0**

**Vintage88**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ida walked downstairs the next morning. She was always an early riser, which was why she was surprised to find Prosper sitting at the counter in the kitchen. His head was being supported in his hand and his eyes were red from lack of sleep.

"Prosper?" exclaimed Ida in alarm. She let out a soft chuckle, "I guess I have a competitor for the earliest riser then?"

The solemn expression stayed plastered on Prosper's face. He wanted to smile with Ida, but he didn't have the energy. After he had caught a glimpse of Rio crouched behind the table, he went back to his room but couldn't sleep. Had it actually been her? At the time he had been too nervous to check, because then she would know he had lied. He didn't really care that they had almost been robbed; Rio would never want to see him again, knowing that he never really was thief.

So he had lain in his bed, and after a while of silence Prosper began to wonder if he had imagined her. The moment this crossed his mind though, he heard her running. He had tried to run after her, but once he reached the front door he couldn't tell which way she had disappeared. The whole house was awake at that point, and Prosper went and crouched behind a couch so no one would ask him what happened.

"I hope you don't mind," Ida finally spoke, "but after last night, Hornet explained to me what was going on. Now don't get mad at her, because I forced the story out of her."

"It's alright," mumbled Prosper, "you should know what's going on. You let me live with you." He hesitated and brought his head up so he could look Ida in the eyes. "Look, I know I've been stupid and kind of taking your hospitality for granted. I'm sorry, unbelievably sorry."

The tiny boy's eyes were wide, filled with apologies and sorrow. Ida smiled sweetly at him. "I'm not about to send you to an orphanage, if that's what you're thinking. But I'm not going to lie Prosper, it hurt when I heard you had gone back to your old ways."

"I know…" Prosper said miserably.

Ida watched him for a moment. "So tell me why; what happened to make you want to go back on the streets."

Prosper felt his face go hot. He didn't want to tell Ida, but he had to. "I had this dream, and I know it sounds stupid," he said quickly when he saw Ida smile, "but I'm not used to dreams at night."

"Tell me about it."

"Well I'm running. I don't know what I'm running from but I can tell it's dark, like I'm trying to run from the night or something. But ahead of me, it's so bright I feel like I'm blind. I don't want to continue running into the light, but for some reason I don't want the darkness to catch me. But when I met Rio and began stealing, the dreams went away. Just like that, they were gone."

Ida stared at him for a long time, deep in her thoughts. At last she let out a tiny sigh and said, "Do you want to know what I think?"

Prosper nodded.

"Considering what's been happening," she explained, "I think the blinding light and the darkness are your two different lives. The darkness would represent you life as a thief, as I can imagine you must have sneaked around at night a lot, while the light is living with me, so not being a thief."

"I don't really get what you're saying," Prosper admitted.

"I can see how this is confusing. Let's try this again… when you met Rio, you became a thief again because you were afraid she wouldn't trust you otherwise. Your dream went away because you weren't running away from being a thief anymore, you had become one. There was nothing to run from anymore."

Nodding to show he understood, Prosper asked, "So does this mean the dreams will come back?"

"Most likely, as long as you don't go back to being a thief again."

"I promise I won't."

"And I trust you," Ida finished, "because you're stronger then you think you are. You can fight off the urge to go back on the streets."

But what if he couldn't? What if he couldn't fight the urge to be a thief? He desperately wanted to ask Ida, but something told him it wouldn't be right. The two of them sat in silence as the morning light began to pour through the windows. Ida asked him he wanted a glass of juice, and Prosper nodded even though he hadn't actually heard the question.

_What would happen to Rio_?

He couldn't get that question out of his head, plus all the other questions that surrounded her. Why did he tell her Rufus was her father? Looking back on it now, Prosper was angry at himself for not realizing sooner that Rufus couldn't have been her father.

A small smile crept over Prosper lips once he realized they had kept secrets from each other. She thought he was a thief, he thought she lived with her dad. All of this had happened because they hadn't just told the truth; all of this because of a couple of small, tiny blue lies.

Suddenly, waking Ida and Prosper up from their thoughts, there were three sharp knocks on the door. Ida rushed to the door, wondering who it could be so early in the morning. Prosper was right behind her. They opened the door to find Scipio standing there, breathing hard as if he had run all the way over from Victor's office.

"Ida -" he began, but stopped when he noticed Prosper with is tired, red eyes. "Prosper? Why are you up this early?"

"What are you doing here?" the boy ignored the question.

Scipio suddenly grinned, his dark eyes flashing. "Well," he told them, "if what I've been told is true, then I've probably just made Prosper's day."

"What are you getting at Scipio," Ida asked, wishing the boy in the adult body would stop playing with them.

"Well I ran into someone late last night, literally." He told them, "A small girl who told me her story and how she wished she had been able to tell the same story to another boy she met a couple days ago. Now what was her name…?" Scipio added, teasing the two.

"Rio?!" Prosper cried.

"Rio, that's her name. Now," Scipio continued, "the girl was a complete mess so I offered her to stay with me at Victor's office for the night."

"And I'm sure Victor doesn't know about this," Ida added, "as he's out of town. Correct?"

"Correct!" exclaimed Scipio, "But I was thinking that because Victor gets annoyed with just me living with him, that maybe Rio could stay here. She has had quite a terrifying story and I think it's only fair we make sure she doesn't fall back into it."

"Oh, oh of course!" Ida said loudly, "She must stay here. Of course, oh, oh, I must go and set up for her. The poor dear…" she disappeared into the house, leaving Prosper alone with Scipio.

"She has a lot to tell you," Scipio said softly, looking down at Prosper.

He nodded. "Can you bring her here?"

"Of course," nodded Scipio, "I'll go get her now."

"Do… do you need me to come?" Prosper asked.

"What?" Scipio explained playfully, "You come with me, and with your short legs? Oh no, you stay here. You would just make it take so much longer."

Prosper grinned and Scipio grinned back. Giving a final wave, Scipio began to run back to Victor's office, and Prosper watched him until he disappeared into the early morning mist.

**The next chapter is the last chapter of **_**Blue Lies**_**, and then I'm gone for the summer. Just so you know **** x0**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Standing in the middle of a bedroom, wearing nothing but a bikini, Rio felt like she was naked. The moment Scipio had brought her to Ida's house, the frantic woman rushed her to a room to observe the damage. A girl with long braids and beautiful brown eyes lent her the swimsuit. Rio closed her eyes, but she could feel the shocked stares of Ida and the braid girl staring at her.

The bruise on Rio's eye was nothing compared to the rest of the damage on her body. Her ribs were showing through her skin, and multi-colored bruises and swollen cuts covered her back and legs.

"Oh heaven," Ida gasped, turning away, "I'm going downstairs to collect some ice and oil for your bruises. Keep an eye on her," she told Hornet as she scurried out of the room, almost as if she were afraid Rio would collapse on the floor right there.

Rio opened her eyes and folded her thin arms over her non-existing stomach. The braided girl pulled the sheets of a bed and handed them to Rio, who hadn't even noticed she was shaking.

"Thanks, uh…"

"Hornet," Hornet said kindly.

Nodding, Rio pulled the sheets over her injured body and smile timidly, "Hornet… I like that name."

"Thanks," Hornet grinned, "it's much better than my old name. But I'll tell you about that later." She paused, "Do you mind if I go downstairs and help Ida carry supplies up. I'm guessing there will be, well, a lot."

"That's fine. I promise I won't run off," she added jokingly.

Hornet nodded and walked over to the doorway. Just before she turned to head down the hallway, she looked Rio in the eye in a serious but friendly way. "Welcome to your new home," she said before continuing on her way to help Ida.

Pulling the blanket closer, Rio couldn't help but smile and she fell back onto the bed. The light fall felt like a slap on her bruises, but she did her best to ignore. So _this_ was home? Home with Ida and Hornet and Bo and Prosper… Prosper.

Her smile faded as she imagined that he was downstairs being told by Scipio her story. Her story of how she had run away from the orphanage, and how Rufus had found her, cold and sick, in an alleyway. He had offered his home to her where he took care of her until she was better and able to move on her own. Rufus taught her how to be a thief, and the idea thrilled her. At the time, life didn't seem so bad. But on her first job when she had returned empty handed, it happened. He beat her. It began to happen often, each beating worse than the first, and each morning Rufus would act as if nothing had happened.

There was a light tap on the door, distracting Rio. Sitting up on the bed, she suddenly realized that Prosper was in the doorway with a steaming cup of tea in his hands. He immediately grinned at the sight of her, but there was a tint of distress in his eyes. Rio felt herself blushing and pulled the covers up so they covered part of her face.

"Ida asked me to bring this to you," he told her as he approached her with the tea, "she said it will help with the… uh…"

"Help with the pain?" Rio let out a tiny laugh. She reached for the cup, trying to keep herself covered, but Prosper caught sight of one of her legs. He tried not to, but he couldn't his eyes from widening in shock.

Quickly looking away, he asked quietly, "Do you mind if I sit with you Blue?"

"Blue," she smiled, "I love that name." Prosper guessed it meant he could sit. "My dad used to call me that."

"I know. But I'm guessing you're not talking about Rufus."

Rio shook her head. "No, my _real_ dad called me Blue. He wasn't a thief; he had a real job trying to help the homeless, which is kind of ironic that I became a thief." She felt her throat tightening, but she continued for Prosper. "I thought it was perfect, just the two of us. But something must have happened, something I still don't know about. One morning I walked into his room and he… and he…"

Rio couldn't say it; it hurt just to remember the sight of her dad hanging there. She was glad she had cried so much with Scipio when she had told him her story first. She had cried so much that she was sure it would take a couple of days for her tears to reappear. Rio didn't mind though, because then she would probably be crying all over Prosper if she was able to.

"You should have run," Prosper finally said, "run away from Rufus. No one should be treated that way."

"I know," Rio sighed sadly, "but I was scared. I didn't know what would have happened to me if I ran out to the streets. Even though Rufus hurt me, he still gave me food and shelter. I guess that's pretty stupid compared to everything else he did to me." She added.

Prosper shrugged. "It'll be okay now though. You'll never have to see Rufus again or steal to survive. You have a real home now with everyone. We all care about you Blue, and –"

"Prosper!" Bo's voice came from the bottom of the stairs, "Hornet needs you to help her carry the tray upstairs!"

Grinning, Prosper whispered, "Guess I should be going." Rio said nothing. She was staring down at her tea, her hair a veil blocking everything else from her view. That was why she was surprised when Prosper brushed her black hair aside and kissed her. It was just a straightforward kiss; a tiny peck on the cheek was all

"I'll be back," he told her as he jumped off the bed and left the room.

" 'Kay," Rio whispered, unable to say much else. Placing the tea on the ground, Rio fell back onto the bed again with a grin spread across her face. _I'm home_, she told herself as she closed her eyes. Only now, instead of the horrifying memories of her dad's suicide and Rufus, Prosper's kiss replayed in her mind.

If anyone had been watching them, they might have been disappointed at how simple the kiss was. But to Rio, that simple kiss meant the world.

The End

**So I'm done my first fanfic!! I really hoped you like so submit some reviews. I'll be gone for most of the '07 summer, but I'll be back in the fall to write some more. **

**Thanks everyone who reviewed this story; they meant a lot.**

**x0**

**Vintage88**


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